Regretting your degree choice? Don’t despair!

Like any other student, I thought I was alone in all my experiences and choices, but experience has shown me differently. I have never known what career I wanted. Of course, I had my moments of wanting to be a famous singer, but let’s be real – I can’t sing so it was never going to happen!

Growing up I always loved Art but it was never anything I could see a future in so I keep that as my ‘on-the-side-when-I-have-free-time‘ hobby – and I enjoy it!

I.T. was also a strong point of mine with an interest in using new software and programs. I knew creativity and innovation were a strong skill, though I didn’t know that skills like these could be applied to a career. So when it came time to pick my degree I was stuck and confused. I couldn’t pinpoint my skills and at 18 it can be one of the toughest choices to make.

At that stage, you don’t have any concrete experience and are pushed into picking a degree as quickly as possible before UCAS deadlines start.  One thing I did know was that I wanted a “different” degree. Something that would have its fun elements. And travelling was high on the to-do list. So after some research on UCAS which involved picking words of interest including “travel”, “tourism” and “international”, I landed on “adventure”. Out sprung ‘BA (Hons) Adventure Tourism Management‘ at UCB – It seemed perfect!

The course offered 3 trips of 10 days in the Lake District, 10 days of winter activities in the French Alps and 3-4 weeks on expeditions to anywhere in the world! Who in the right mind wouldn’t do this degree?!

However, it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I was put off ever going back to the Lake District, with the weather being terrible every time and being secluded in a lodge with no phone signal to the outside world for miles. As soon as we got on that dreaded minibus the second and third time round (Feb and Oct 2012) – which was cramped and took nearly 5 hours to get there – I already wanted to get back home!

For our trip to the French Alps (Jan 2013), we only had around 5 days and there seemed to be no time for beginners – like myself – to have training and adjust to the new activities. Plus it was very expensive especially as we are all on student budgets which, let’s face it, is hardly anything!  The expedition I can’t complain about – (after all I’m writing this blog whilst sat in Livingstone (Zambia, Africa))!

I’m enjoying it because I’ve planned this project for so many months. This is the one thing I most looked forward to and I worked very hard at planning and perfecting the trip, even setting up and updating a Facebook page. Plus, imagine my delight when I realised my dissertation was the expedition, though when I got back home in early February 2014 the work continued and the word count rose! These experiences have proved I am not a hardcore Adventure Traveller. However, this didn’t stop me from continuing the course. Especially as during the first and second years I still didn’t know what career I wanted.

When I started my third year something clicked and I just thought, “Zowie, decide now what you want to do!”

I visited the careers councillor and researched online. After looking at all my skills, work and experiences I knew Marketing would be the best sector for me to go into. However, I had no relevant experience that could get me a job in this sector, so I set out to volunteer.

I applied to many organisations. I offered one full working day during the week, which meant I still had time to go to university, do my job and get my work done. I heard back from Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice and as of November 2013, I became their PR and Marketing intern. As part of this role, I’ve already experienced communications, and event planning, and increased my skills in project management. I also became a Social Media Marketer for vInspired which concentrated on networking and using my social media platforms to interact and promote.  So now I’m here in Zambia, volunteering during the day in a nearby village offering recreational activities to children – and in the evening, browsing the internet for potential graduate schemes and jobs!

These past few months not only have I found the sector I want to go into, but I also realised I want to work with a charity. I want my work to go somewhere and really mean something. If I could, I would have a job that lets me travel, see the world and experience cultures, blog about it and also work as a benefit. Though this can probably only be found through thorough research and time dedicated to job sites, who knows what the future holds?

Through all of this, I felt quite alone. Surrounding me I have friends and family who seemed to know by 7 years old what exactly they were going to do. Now they are lawyers, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, business owners etc. However I recently realised, after talking to these people in-depth, and others, that most of them didn’t know what they actually wanted to do. And in some cases, their parents picked their profession, or at least tempted them!  Even with this relevant experience, I feel I still will have to be very lucky to get a marketing job; volunteering is a different ball game!

I feel that my specific degree might hold me back. Even when going for part-time jobs employers ask, “What will adventure tourism get you a job in?”  – and this can be a really off-putting question. Only confidence, persuasion and aspiration can ever get you past an uneasy question like that and at times, it makes me regret picking the degree I did.

If I could go back I’d pick a more general degree which would open up more doors – But you can’t change the past, only hard-work and will power can get me to my dream job!